I love cats. All cats. But especially my indoor kitty babies who are like children to me. They are like little people with special powers of cuddliness, fluffiness and the 6th sense of intuition. Very close after them are my other feline babies, those left behind in the colony where my indoor kitties were born. They are my cats’ family. They feel like my family too, however, they were more of a family in the past. Now I am more like a visiting aunty when I go to the gates, they come to see me and eat the nice cat food I bring for them. I used to feed them 2x a day, look for homes for their kittens (before they were spayed), and tried to do 1st aid and healthcare with limited success. I used to spend hours just watching them, adoring them, they got used to my presence. They would come to me. I always thought about them when I was at work. I enjoyed their presence, it was so calming and interesting too. But then we were evicted. I took with me the 3 kittens I rescued and took them into my home when they were poorly and promised to go back to the garden of the house as much as possible, with cat food of course. It was extremely painful to leave. I could not take 20 feral cats into a one bedroom flat with no garden. But at least it was nearby and I was able to take my kittens with me. Being close to the colony and being able to take my kittens was the main thing I looked for when I was looking for our next home.

This was 2013, a lot has happened since. I have been going there on and off since. There are now only 4 spayed and neutered cats in the garden left. Occasionally few other cats who used to belong to the colony appear from somewhere. They must have made their outdoor homes in other gardens and other people feed them. But they come to see me from time to time and I offer food of course. But there was more upset. I now cannot get to our old garden any more as it has now become a gated community. They have put gates up on both sides. So now in order to see the kitties I stand on the street in the middle of the night. However, the cats still remember me and come to the gate to say hello and eat some of the cat food offerings I bring with me. I still go there regularly as much as I can. I always feel happier whenever I see them and see that they are ok.

As if this was not painful enough, we were evicted again in 2017. This time it was truly serious though. I just completed my degree, my student finance ended and I had not found a new job yet. My partner was unemployed. I tried everything, but nobody wanted us. And especially not with cats. My boyfriend applied for help from the council, I did not want, but tolerated, no help with cats. However, luckily my boyfriend’s support worker loved cats too, so he found a foster family for them. In meanwhile we went through the mill, 1 day hotel, 2 weeks room in our area, 2 month studio in another borough, 2 months in a night shelter, every night on a different church floor. We lost our possessions and documents.

Then, when our failed homeless application was put in again, we were sent to a studio flat in a faraway borough. Then disaster stroke – the fostering ended. We took the cats into our emergency accommodation with us, but it did not last long. We had unannounced inspections and were obligated to open for the inspector at any time. The Inspector came and saw the cats. I tried to close the cats into a cupboard, but they were just too eager to go to greet the visitor. I guess the cats regretted their eagerness later on. We were told we had to ‘get rid off them’ or be put on the street! So terrible! Pet charities would not help. Nobody would help. It was the most frightening time of my life apart from the evictions. However, luckily I again found somebody who was willing to foster the cats. It was a godsend, though not so straightforward by any means. The fosterer had no experience with cats at all and the cats were often left on their own for long periods of time. In the meantime I had to travel across London to see the colony. I also travelled to see the fosterer and check on the cats. It’s a good job this did not happen during the Covid-19 pandemic at least.

It took a long time, huge amount of stress and lots of worries about the cats’ wellbeing, but the indoor kitties are finally with me again and allowed to be for that!! And we are not across the whole London from the colony anymore too!

My house cats are the first thing I see when I get up and the last thing I see when I go to bed. They greet me every time when I go outside and come back. They are the first thing I consider when I have to leave home for a day or visit relatives abroad. Whatever I do or plan, I first think about how it would affect my kitty children. I am used to them always being there. There is always some little fairy creature coming from somewhere to greet me, cuddle me, sit on my lap or just ask for a treat. They put a smile on my face. My boyfriend, who has some challenges with his mental health, gets moody and sometimes becomes upset. But whenever he sees a cat, he just melts and all is well again. It was very hard when the cats were not with us, as there was nothing to calm him down.

Illustration by Poppy Burnley.